176 THE SHEEP AND ITS COUSINS 



pounds. The horn of the Syrian ram is very large, 

 not spiral, but recurved under the ears." 



The fat " rump " of sheep used in sacrifice by 

 the Hebrews and referred to in the above quotation 

 suggests the idea that in Biblical times fat-rumped 

 sheep (pi. xvii.) may have been kept in Palestine. 

 Both adult sheep and lambs were offered by the 

 Israelites in sacrifice, although lambs of the first 

 year appear to have been the most usual victims. 

 The first mention of sheep in the Bible occurs in 

 the second verse of the fourth chapter of Genesis. 

 Throughout the Bible the sheep is referred to as 

 the emblem of meekness and righteousness, whereas 

 goats represent precisely the opposite. Canon 

 Tristram attributed the selection of the sheep for 

 this position to the fact that its fleece is generally 

 white, whereas dark colours predominate in the 

 coat of goats. While admitting that this may 

 have had a large share in the matter, it may be 

 suggested that the evil odour of goats was likewise 

 an important factor in the selection. 



Pallas, it may be added, would not admit that 

 the Bokharan fat-tail was a true breed, regarding 

 it as the product of a cross between the under- 

 mentioned long-tailed and fat-rumped breed. There 

 is, however, as Fitzinger remarks, no justification 

 for such a view. 



Nearly allied to the Bokharan is the Persian 

 fat-tailed sheep. This breed, in place of being 



